Koch brothers

Charles and David Koch, who generally participate in politics as a team, own the second-largest private company in the world, the Koch Industries. Their combined personal net worth may be as great as $100 billion, which is greater wealth than Bill Gates has. They have been anti-Trump to the point of even supporting delusional efforts at the Republican National Convention in July 2016 to somehow deny the nomination to Trump. The Koch brothers are pro-choiceglobalists who tend to undermine efforts to strengthen American sovereignty and border security.

The Koch brothers conspire in secret with other wealthy individuals, and hold meetings closed to grassrootsconservatives. This attempts to corner and influence the conservative movement and the Republican Party in a secretive, self-serving manner. In a leaked audio recording of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014, he essentially admitted the dependency of Republican Party leaders on the Koch brothers.[1]

The Koch brothers are the biggest source of phony pro-life Republican politicians, such as Koch-backed former Rep. Renee Elmers (R-NC). She was elected by pretending to be pro-life but then switched sides on key legislation for the unborn.[2] She was defeated after redistricting and opposition by pro-lifers.

The Koch brothers are among the biggest polluters of the environment in the entire country. Despite this, they will invoke morality in bizarre ways, such as their chief spokesman insisting that a Senate replacement bill for ObamaCare is somehow "immoral".

The Koch brothers fund the LIBRE initiative, which pushes for amnesty for the more than 11 million illegal aliens in the United States.[3]

The Koch brothers' wealth and repeated attempts to gain political influence have advanced a number of candidates at the state and federal levels. Sometimes they secretly fund harmful causes while concealing their role.

There are additional Koch brothers who do not participate in the political projects of Charles and David. Charles is considered to be more politically motivated than his younger brother David.

Contents

Koch brothers' agenda

1. Push the Convention of States (Article V Con Con).
2. Oppose global warming (pro-environment) legislation and regulations.
3. Support "dark money" (secret financing, without limits, of organizations to influence policy and elections).
4. Support criminal justice "reform" (reduced sentences and greater employability as low-wage workers).
5. Oppose federal "War on Drugs" and also oppose federal laws such as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act
6. Oppose pro-life and much of social conservatism, but behind-the scenes.[Citation Needed]7. Support globalism and more immigration of low-wage workers (from which the Koch Industries profits), and oppose Donald Trump.

Organizations influenced or controlled by the Koch brothers

In 2012, the Koch brothers took over Cato and ousted its founder, Ed Crane. This article by the Huffington Post has an insightful headline: "Koch Brothers’ Attempted Takeover Of Cato Could Be Part Of Bold Plan."[4]

Additional organizations that the Koch brothers control or heavily influence are:

Koch Industries

In 2000, the Koch brothers (David and Charles) took over Koch industries from their brothers following bitter litigation.

The Tenth Circuit, in a decision in 2000, described the background of the Koch brothers' business as follows:

The subject of this dispute, KII, is the second largest privately-held corporation in the United States. Based in Wichita, Kansas, KII owns an array of energy-related operations in the United States and Canada. Specifically, KII's assets include oil refineries, service stations, pipelines, coal mines, oil and gas exploration properties and processing plants, and a fleet of trucks. KII also owns numerous ranches and several hundred Chrysler dealerships.

Originally named the Rock Island Oil and Refining Company, KII was founded by Fred C. Koch, the father of plaintiffs William and Frederick Koch and defendants Charles and David Koch. Fred Koch launched the company after World War II, when his mentor, L.B. Simmons, sold a refinery and several pipelines to Fred. In exchange, L.B. Simmons received stock and cash and he soon purchased additional shares of Rock Island Oil and Refining.

L.B. Simmons' stock eventually passed individually and in trust to the following plaintiffs: Gay Roane, Holly Farabee, and Ronald Borders (the "Texas Plaintiffs"), Ann Alspaugh, Paul Cox, and L.B. Simmons Energy, Inc. (collectively, the "Simmons Family" ). For decades, the Simmons Family elected a director to KII's Board of Directors. Those members of the Simmons family involved in the instant suit are cousins to the four Koch brothers.

In 1966 and 1967, Fred Koch gave all his common shares of KII stock to trusts created for his four sons, granting equal shares to plaintiff William and defendants Charles and David, but a lesser amount to plaintiff Frederick. When Fred Koch died in 1967, Charles succeeded his father as a director and chief executive officer of KII, positions he retains today. David went to work for KII in 1970 and presently serves as an executive vice-president and a director. William joined KII full-time in 1974, becoming vice president of corporate development five years later and continuously serving as a director from 1967 to 1983. Frederick, however, displayed substantially less interest in the company; he was never a KII employee and did not place a representative on the board until March of 1981.

In 1980, a dispute erupted over the management of KII, pitting William, Frederick and the Simmons Family against Charles and David. During this contentious power struggle, Charles and David purchased the 4 % of KII stock owned by Howard Marshall III, the son of director J. Howard Marshall II. As a result, the voting percentage of stock retained by William, Frederick and the Simmons Family stood at 47.8 %, while Charles, David and the family of J. Howard Marshall II controlled 49.7 %, with employees and others owning the balance. In addition, the Board voted to terminate William's employment at KII.

At that point, KII began negotiating with William, Frederick and the Simmons Family either to buy back some or all of their stock or to take KII public and have the now dissident shareholders sell their stock on the public market. Both sides then retained law firms and investment banking companies to represent them in the negotiations. On behalf of the dissident shareholders, the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs undertook an extensive valuation study of KII, beginning in the spring of 1982.

These efforts culminated in the June 1983 [stock purchase agreement] SPA. Signed by all parties on June 4, 1983, the SPA provided that William, Frederick and the Simmons Family would sell their shares of KII common stock back to the company for $ 200 per share. In addition, the selling shareholders received their pro rata interests in an offshore oil concession. The SPA contained two relevant warranties by KII: The first provided that all KII financial statements disclosed to the selling shareholders had fairly presented KII's financial condition and were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The second warranty promised that since December 31, 1982, the Defendants had provided all information "which if fully disclosed might materially affect the valuation of [KII] stock ...."